Cold Hearted?
by Rubishinju
Summary: What happens when two girls whose identities are entertwined meet? what happens when one of them starts to have feelings for a certain coldhearted youkai? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

The demoness frowned grimly. This was the end for her. She would die at the hands of this ningen, a priestess by the name of Kikyo. There was nothing to save her now. The female demon backed up against a tree and snarled at her nasty predicament. How could she let this happen? A powerful youkai like herself being defeated by a human; it was unheard of. The priestess let an arrow fly, piercing the demoness's shoulder, pinning her to the tree. That was all it took and her world went black.

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Akari woke up to the shrill ringing of her alarm clock. Oh, how she hated that thing. She had begged her mother multiple times to let her get a new one, but the insufferable woman insisted that the present clock got the job of waking her up done much more effectively. Akari sighed and got out of bed. Today would be another boring day at school. She headed toward the bathroom and looked in the mirror as she brushed her long black hair. She was a sight to behold, not your typical Japanese-looking teenager. She had blue eyes and pale skin. Akari was tall and slender, which helped being as she was extremely active, but she didn't know how that really helped. Oh well. Many of the girls at her school were jealous of her natural beauty, which was fine with her being as she wasn't very social anyway. The young teenager walked out of the bathroom and put on her uniform, thanking kami that it didn't show off her curves, otherwise the boys would be all over her. She stalked out of her room and out of the house, ignoring her parents' cheerful goodbye. It wasn't that she didn't like the happy couple, no, she absolutely adored them, she merely thought the level cheerfulness in the morning to be nauseating. After about fifteen minutes of walking, Akari reached the school she attended. Being as she was early she sat on the steps awaiting the first bell, signaling the day had begun. Several minutes passed and the steps began to get more crowded. Eventually she could hear little snippets of conversations. One of them caught her attention:

"Did you hear about Higurashi?" One girl asked.

"No. What happened to her this time? Kami only knows how many illnesses that girl has had," another girl replied.

"I heard that this time she's come down with typhoid fever. Her grandpa called the school to say it's serious."

Akari frowned. Kagome was one of the nicest people she knew, probably the only kind person she knew. It made her sad to hear that she was so ill. That girl deserved nothing but happiness. And what did she get in return? A whole lot of hell, that's what. The bell rang and Akari sighed and got up to go to classes. Perhaps after school she would pay Kagome's family a visit.

Akari breathed a sigh of relief that school was over. It wasn't that she hated school, she was as intelligent as they came, it was just the girls there treated her so horribly. She set off a fast walk, wanting to visit Kagome's family and get home in time for dinner. Soon enough, Akari reached the house that had a shrine in the back. She found it to be very intimidating, something about that little shack was not right. She shook off the feeling and rang the doorbell. After a couple of seconds, a cheerful-looking woman answered the door. The woman was surprised to say the least.

"Konichiwa, Mrs. Higurashi," Akari said with a bow.

"Konichiwa," Kagome's mother replied.

"I just wanted to stop by to let you know that I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's illness. She is a very nice girl."

"Thank you very much, I'll be sure to let Kagome know you stopped by. May ask who you are?"

Akari blushed. "Of course! I'm so sorry. That must have seemed rude of me! I'm Akari Kinoshita. I am an acquaintance of your daughter."

Mrs. Higurashi smiled. "I'm pleased to meet you. And again, I'll be sure to let Kagome know you paid a visit."

"Arigatou," Akari replied. "Sayonara." With that said, Akari turned around and quickly walked away. When she finally looked up, she found herself staring at the entrance to the shrine. Apparently her feet had a mind of their own today because they were now leading her inside the small building. Inside, she saw a very old well and immediately it attracted her interest. Akari had always liked wells. She walked to the edge and looked down. It was a long drop, but you could see the bottom even in the darkness. Suddenly, the wood beneath her gave way and she fell towards the bottom of the well. Akari closed her eyes, preparing for the painful collision with the ground, but no such thing happened. A flash of blue light and a second later she was sprawled out on the ground, sunlight pouring down on her back.

Akari was not ready for what was about to happen next, but there was nothing she could really do about that. She heard a female voice shout, "SIT!" and the next thing she knew someone had jumped in the well and landed right on top of her. She gasped in pain from the contact. She had never before experienced pain like this; it had knocked the wind out of her and apparently made her temporarily deaf. The person who had landed on her was now apologizing profusely, but Akari heard none of it. Slowly she forced herself to flip over and sit up. It was painful, but she managed to do it. She looked upon the person who had used her as a cushion and to her immense surprise saw it was Kagome.

"Kagome?" She gasped. "What are you doing here?"

Kagome only stared at her, mouth hanging open. "How- how- how?"

"How what?" Akari snapped. She was not in a good mood right now, but could you blame her? Who wants to be used as a cushion?

"Kagome?" Came a voice Akari knew to come from a male. "I thought you were going home." A head looked over the side and Akari was shocked to see he had white hair and dog-ears. She visibly stared. He stared back. "Who the hell are you?" He asked rudely. Akari blanched.

"I was about to ask the same thing, only not as rude as Inu Yasha," said Kagome.

Akari looked incredulously at Kagome. "Do you not recognize me, Kagome?" She shook her head. "I'm Akari, I go to your school. Remember anything now?"

Apprehension dawned on Kagome's face and her mouth formed an 'O.' She blushed a deep shade of red. "Oh my gosh! I am so sorry Akari! Please forgive me!" The panic on Kagome's face was enough to make anyone laugh, so that's what Akari did. A laugh bubbled out of her mouth and echoed around the well, she quickly stopped, however, when it hurt too much.

"Of course I'll forgive you Kagome. No one really knows my name anyway, why should now be a big deal?" Akari was smiling, but in her eyes was bitterness. She really didn't mind that people treated her badly; she just wanted a little recognition, people to know who she was. She shook the hard feelings off; she was not going to let something as trivial as negative feelings get in the way. "Now, I have only one question to ask?" Kagome cocked her head to the side. "Where the hell am I?"

Kagome sighed. "I think we should go to some place a little more private. Inu Yasha? Could you please help Akari out of here?"

Akari waved her hands wildly. "That's not really necessary! I can get out of here myself. Really!" Slowly and painfully, she got up and starting climbing up the wall of the well. Eventually she reached the top only to find the boy Kagome called Inu Yasha staring at her. "What are you looking at dog-boy? Haven't you ever seen a human before?"

"INU YASHA! Are you going to help me out or what?" Kagome shouted. Inu Yasha jumped down the well with inhuman grace and quickly came back up with Kagome. "Thank you." Inu Yasha merely grumbled out something incoherent. "Follow me, Akari." Akari nodded and followed the lead of dog-boy and Kagome, thoroughly confused out of her mind. What was going on?


	2. Chapter 2

Akari had no earthly idea what was going on. She was merely following dog-boy and Kagome, who apparently knew what they were doing, to what appeared to be a village. It was unlike any village Akari had laid eyes on. Kagome led her to a house on the edge of the quaint little town and knocked on the door. An elderly woman answered it and smiled in relief. Clearly something inside was about to drive her insane. "Come in, come in," she said. She widened the door to allow the two to enter and then shut it in Akari's face. Normally she would find this funny if it happened to any other person, but today was not her day and she found herself extremely miffed. The door flew open and Kagome looked at her apologetically.

"Sorry about that," she mumbled. Akari nodded and crossed the threshold. What she saw as her eyes adjusted to the light was clearly what she thought was her imagination playing tricks on her, but unfortunately it wasn't. Her eyes traveled over some of the strangest people she had ever seen. The first, being a tall, handsome monk with an odd staff. The second was a young woman with a giant boomerang and an odd-looking cat at her feet. Was it a cat? Or was it some alien that planned to take over the world once people realized it wasn't as cute as it looked? Oh bother. The third person, thing, whatever you wanted to call him, was a young boy with fox ears and tail. During this whole time Akari could not help but widen her eyes. This had to be a dream. The elderly woman was an odd site too. She had an eye patch and a certain aura that seemed to scream, 'Priestess!' This was just too overwhelming and Akari plopped down on the floor. Doing such action was not a wise move when her back was searing with pain already and so she cringed.

Someone finally decided to speak up. "Who are you?" The little kitsune asked bluntly.

"My name is Akari. Now, could someone please tell me what is going on? Kagome? Do you know these people?"

Kagome smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I do. Everyone meet Akari, she goes to my school. Akari, this is Inu Yasha, that's Miroku, stay away from him, he's a hentai, next to him is Sango, at her feet is Kirara, and then there's little Shippo. Oh, and the woman with the eye-patch is Kaede." Over the course of the next hour, Akari's brain was verging extreme overload. The things she learned was just too much and she found herself dozing into a light sleep. Eventually, it turned into a deep sleep.

"What should we do guys? Should we let her join our group? I don't think she realizes how dangerous it is out here." Kagome whispered urgently.

"I say we see how she handles it for a while, but I think she'll do fine. Look at how well she handled being landed on and then this," Inu Yasha whispered. "She seems as if she can keep her wits about her."

"All right then, it's decided. We'll see if she can handle it, and if not, we'll send her home," Kagome said with finality.

"What's this about being landed on?" Asked Kaede. Even in the darkness, everyone could see Kagome blush.

"I, uh, accidentally landed on her when I jumped down the well," Kagome replied, highly embarrassed.

"Good lord! She should have been examined. That could snap a human's back. Why didn't anyone say anything?"

"Look miko. She's fine, she managed to climb out of the Bone Eater's well without any help, I think she'll live." Kaede rolled her eyes and dismissed what Inu Yasha said. She would look at the poor girl's back tomorrow.

Akari woke the next day sunlight poring in from the window and warming her body. She sighed, yesterday was all a dream. She would open her eyes and be in her own room safe and sound. Then, she felt a hand on her rear. No, this was definitely not her room. There was nothing in there that would do something this perverted. Akari shot up like a rocket to see Miroku grinning in his sleep. 'That monk's going to pay,' she thought to herself. Positioning herself in just the right manner, Akari prepared herself to punch Miroku in the guts. But then, Inu Yasha's voice pierced through the quiet.

"What are you doing?" He whispered. Akari put a finger to her lips and put her plan into action. One punch straight to the gut and Miroku curled into a ball, whimpering like a lost little puppy. It was just too much. Inu Yasha burst out laughing waking everyone else. They looked around confused as to what was going on. Even Akari had to laugh; the site of Miroku curled into a ball was hilarious, the others joined in, even though they didn't know what happened. Akari wiped a tear from her eye and whispered into Miroku's ear:

"That'll teach you where to place your hands? Don't you think?" Miroku could only nod. "Okay then!" Akari said brightly and stood up. Surprisingly she was in no pain at all today. The priestess Kaede walked up to her and attempted to examine her back. Akari flinched at the touch. "What on earth are you trying to do?"

"I heard about your little accident with Kagome and wished to see if your back was all right. Something like that could kill you," Kaede said with concern.

"That's not necessary. I feel fine, really. It doesn't hurt anymore," Akari said quickly. Everyone stared at her. "What?"

"For humans, it normally takes a while for such injuries to heal," explained Inu Yasha.

Akari frowned. "I know that. I've had my fair share of injuries, but they've always healed quickly for me. Why? Is that not normal?"

"For humans, no. Half-demons and full-blood demons, however, have the ability to heal at fast rates," said Kaede.

"But I'm not a demon, or half of one," Akari said confused.

"That's what makes it so odd," Sango spoke up for the first time. "Perhaps maybe when you travel with us we will find some answers."

"Wait! 'When' I travel with you?" Akari asked. "I thought you said it was dangerous out here. I mean, not that I don't mind a little adventure, but give a girl a little warning first. I'd love to travel with you, though."

"Then it's settled," said Inu Yasha impatiently, "now let's get out of here." Everyone gathered their stuff in a rush and within ten minutes they were on their way. Akari reflected back on what she had learned last night. It was all so mind-blowing. She truly was 500 years in the past, in the Feudal Era for kami's sake! Despite the fact that most people would have had a mental breakdown about now, Akari found herself enjoying this. The air here was so clean, unlike the air in Japan now. Everything was more vivid with life; it was breathtaking. Eventually Akari grew tired of the silence and decided to say something.

"So, where are we going?" Akari asked curiously.

"We are going to the Western Lands to look for some more shards, but we need to be careful, Inu Yasha's half-brother lives there and roams around there a lot of the time. Sesshomaru is a very dangerous youkai," answered Kagome.

Akari nodded her head. It was understandable that the two brothers hated each other. One thought to be better than the other because his blood was pure. If Akari had any say in the matter, she wouldn't care about blood or anything like that; a sibling is a sibling no matter what. "Do you have any leads on where a shard of the Shikon no Tama is? Or are you just heading this way on a sheer whim?"

"A whim," said Miroku. "There is no real way to track down a shard unless we follow rumors, but there were none, so we are just hoping against hopes to find one."

"And also to find this Naraku guy, right? The one that cursed your family and tried to kill Inu Yasha?" Akari asked. "He sounds dangerous from what I've heard. Cunning and powerful; that's a bad combination in the wrong hands."

"Yes," said Inu Yasha with fervor, "I intend to destroy him. He can't get away with ruining all of these lives." The rest of the day was spent mostly in silence. When night fell set up camp for the night. Akari couldn't believe how beautiful the stars were tonight. They shone with a brilliance like no other. Soon Akari fell asleep along with the others.

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Sesshomaru wandered the woods early that morning. He had left his camp to explore the surrounding area. In all his years of being Lord of the West, he could honestly say he had never been to this part of the region. His thoughts were in jumble as they normally were; he was just too intelligent for his own good. He let out a rare sigh; he supposed he would never find his match in an opponent. There was no one good enough for his standards. Perhaps the hanyou would be if he learned how to wield Testuaiga correctly, but the dirty half-demon never listened to reason. Sesshomaru was deep in thought when he passed the oddest site he could imagine. A person with black flowing hair was pinned to a tree, by an arrow among other things. The great taiyoukai could not tell what gender it was for its head was drooping; in fact, he could not tell what species it was, it had no scent whatsoever. Odd. He thought for a brief moment of releasing the person from their prison, but then wondered how others would react to it. In the end, he decided to move on and think nothing more of the strange person. He headed back to his camp where Rin, Jaken, and Ah-Un should be waking up momentarily.

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The group gathered their things and head out; they wanted to cover a lot of ground today. Akari walked deep in thought, a sense of foreboding filling her. Something bad was going to happen today, she could feel it aching in her bones. They passed through a field later on in the day where obviously someone had used it as a campsite. Inu Yasha sniffed.

"Sesshomaru," he growled.

"He was here?" Asked Akari nervously. She didn't want to meet this powerful demon; he seemed terrifying.

"Yeah, but he's long since moved out. We have nothing to worry about," said Inu Yasha relaxing. The group sighed in relief. None of them wanted to encounter the cold-hearted youkai. They continued on their way. Akari fell deep into thought again. Surely that wasn't what was so bad. There had to be something else. 'Akari! Stop trying to scare yourself. It won't do you any good,' she mentally berated herself. She decided the let the internal conflict drop for the time being. Maybe nothing would happen today. How wrong she was.


	3. Chapter 3

The afternoon sun reached its peak as the group entered a tranquil forest, but the feeling of foreboding that Akari felt was still there. 'Why won't it go away? Surely no harm can befall me while I'm with this group of experienced fighters.' Akari tried her hardest to shake the feeling off again. Fifteen minutes later, she felt cold, not only cold, but empty as well. Empty like something was missing, a very important something. Suddenly she felt very dizzy; she stumbled. 'What is going on? I'm never like this,' she thought to herself. Then, she heard a collective gasp come from the others. She looked up to see a person leaning on a tree. Well, at first glance that's what it looked like; the person had an arrow piercing their shoulder. It was much like how Inu Yasha was imprisoned by Kikyo.

"We have to release that person," said Inu Yasha emotionally, "no one deserves to die like that." That was the last Akari heard as her world went black. She fell to the ground unconscious unaware that her life was about to take a turn for the worse, a major turn. Miroku picked up the poor girl while Kagome (I changed it to Kagome it was Inu Yasha, it would make sense that since she is a reincarnation of a priestess that she would be able to set the person free and not a demon or hanyou.) freed the person from their prison. Since both of them (Akari and the mysterious person) required special attention, the group headed for the nearest village as quickly as possible.

When they reached the village, they called upon the service of the local apothecary. The old man was stumped as to what happened with Akari. The group had no choice, but to stay in the village for the night. They laid down the poor two souls on rice mats. The person's black hair fell out of their face. Upon closer examination, the group noted with fascination the person was indeed a woman, a very beautiful woman. Her features were calm and pristine, as if death could not mar her beauty, but perhaps the most mind-straining thing about her was that she looked almost exactly like Akari. Tomorrow, they would give the woman a proper burial; it was the least they could do for her. One by one, the gang drifted off to sleep, wondering what happened to their newest group member.

Akari woke in the middle of the night. She was shocked to find that her feeling was correct about something bad happening, but what was this ominous power that was draining her strength? She looked around and her eyes landed on the woman Kagome had released. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized the woman looked almost identical to her. This was what was draining her energy! She could tell. The first thing Akari's brain told her to do was run for it; get as far away from this—thing as possible. So that's Akari did. She bolted into the forest and hoped that she would never lay eyes on the woman again.

The sun shone through the window, effectively waking everyone up. Now by everyone, it means everyone. The strange woman's lids fluttered open to reveal striking blue eyes. The group stared at her in absolute astonishment. They all thought her for dead! Yet here she was, stretching and then standing before them in all her glory (not naked y'all, I mean glory as in enigma). She was quite tall for a normal human woman, but then again she was far from normal, not that anyone knew this, except the woman. Her eyes traveled over all of them, analyzing the group critically. After what seemed like an eternity she bowed in respect and then left the small hut.

"HEY! Wait! We save you and then you just walk off? How ungrateful is that?" Yelled Inu Yasha, running after her. The group followed his lead. The woman merely turned and raised an eyebrow. It was as if she was saying: 'What is it you want exactly?' Inu Yasha sighed in resignation. "Or if you don't want to talk the least you could give us is a thanks and a name." The woman blinked. Surely the bow sufficed as a sufficient enough 'thank you.' Oh well. It's not like it's going to hurt anyone.

"My apologies," she said, her voice was soft and melodious, "I thank you for your kindness. You said you wanted my name as well?" He nodded. "Very well, my name is Utsukushii Okami (In Japanese that means 'Beautiful Wolf'), it is my great pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Making a rash decision, Kagome decided that this woman should travel with them. Nothing as beautiful as she should go out in the wilderness alone. "It's a pleasure to meet you Utsukushii. If it is all right with my friends, would you like to travel with us? Perhaps you could help us find our missing friend, she looks quite a bit like you." The others nodded their heads in consent. At first the woman narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but then looked apologetic.

"I am sorry, but I cannot in good conscience travel with you until I solve a rather personal matter. Please forgive me, I do not wish to appear rude in any way. Ummm… Can I ask one small favor?" The group nodded again. "Can you tell me where I might find a sword? I'm afraid I lost mine."

"You didn't lose it. When we found you we took you here," said Kagome. She turned red. "You see, we thought you were dead, so we thought we could make could use of your weapons. We went to the village blacksmith to get them fixed. We have them now, do you want them back?"

"If it is not too much to ask, then yes," Utsukushii replied. Kagome handed the woman her weapons back. The group by and large was basically wondering the same thing: 'What personal matter did she need to solve that involved the use of weapons?' They thought better not ask. "Thank you for all that you have done. I am eternally in your debt." She turned on her heel and walked towards the woods. The five friends watch her form diminish until they could no longer see her.

"There was something odd about her," said Inu Yasha. "She had no scent."

"Just forget about it Inu Yasha, we have more important matters to attend to than what that strange woman smelled like," said Sango. "Come on, let's gather our stuff and head on out of here. We have a friend to find."

Utsukushii picked up her pace. She needed to find this girl Inu Yasha's group was talking about. Utsukushii was much more intelligent then she let on; by now she had already figured out that that girl held part of her soul. She wanted it back. She would not take part of it and move on, if she wanted to rise to her full potential, she needed all of her soul, and that girl was going to give it to her, whether by force or willingly, she didn't care. She sniffed the air and caught an unfamiliar feminine scent. It was traveling alone. Utsukushii smirked. Perfect. She broke out into a run and in no time at all caught up with the girl that had gone missing.

"Going somewhere?" Asked Utsukushii. Akari turned around and gasped. This was like a living nightmare; she had hoped to escape this woman and yet she could not rid herself of this person.

"Wh-what do you want from me?" Stuttered Akari.

"I want what is rightfully mine; my soul," said Utsukushii in a deadly whisper. She drew her sword, dropping all pretences that she even had a heart. This girl's life was not her problem and she didn't care if she killed her to get her soul back. So that's exactly what Utsukushii did. With one slash the girl was killed so effectively that not a drop of blood was spilt. Utsukushii felt her power restore to its former height. Yes, after all of these years she was finally free. She inhaled the clean air and in doing so caught the scent of a demon nearby. She positioned herself in a battle stance.

Sesshomaru's keen nose identified two foreign scents. He was not sure if they were potentially dangerous to his pack, so he decided to check it out. He quickly located where the two scents were coming from and took off at breathtaking speed. As he neared, he slowed down, came to a stop, and watched the scene unravel before his golden eyes. The two scents were that of human women, or at least that is what his nose told him. One of them appeared to be hostile while the other was obviously terrified. He could smell it as plain as day. In one quick movement the hostile woman cut the other down, expertly managing not to spill any blood. It was then that Sesshomaru noticed the woman's aura; it was extremely strong now. This woman was not normal. He saw her tense and she became aware of his presence. Against better judgment he walked into her line of sight. As he neared her he could not deny that this woman was beautiful. If she were a demon, he just might take her as a mate, if only for the sole purpose of producing an heir. Alas, she was not, in fact, she had no scent, something about that was familiar, but Sesshomaru could not think of what it was. The woman watched him with narrowed eyes, trying to determine if he was a threat. Apparently she found her answer when she sheathed her sword, obviously deciding he was not going to attack.

"Who are you?" The woman asked harshly.

"I could ask the same thing of you," retorted Sesshomaru.

"I believe I asked you first."

"Very well, I am Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western lands."

Utsukushii bowed. "It is an honor to meet you. I am Utsukushii Okami."

"I have to ask: why did you cut down the girl?"


	4. Chapter 4

"I have to ask: why did you cut the girl down?" Asked Sesshomaru.

"I believe that is none of your concern. If it is truly important to you, let's just say I was taking what was rightfully mine," Utsukushii replied monotonously. Utsukushii took this time to look at the taiyoukai more closely. He was certainly not hard to look at. He was an extremely beautiful person in terms of physical features, but in emotion, he was sorely lacking. Yet, Utsukushii was much the same way. She found the need not to wear her heart on her sleeve like many people. It was an extremely foolish thing to do. Yes, she chose to look uncaring, but what she really felt was a story for another time. "You have every reason to be here, so you're probably wondering what I am doing roaming your lands. In answer to that, I was recently released from my, ah- prison. An enchanted arrow trapped me to a tree. I will leave as soon as possible if that is your wish."

"I have no power over who enters these lands, only the people who live in it. This Sesshomaru does not care if you leave or not." Something about what the strange woman said triggered a memory and his eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Hold on, that was you who was pinned to the tree?"

Utsukushii cocked her head and gave him a strange look. "Indeed, it was. Look, I've already taken enough your time, I should get going." She turned to leave.

Sesshomaru didn't know what came over him, but he did it anyway. "If you would like, you are free to travel with my pack until you reach whatever destination you are heading for."

Astonishment flashed in Utsukushii's clear blue eyes. Was a great demon like him asking her to travel with him? He was. "I would like that, if it is not too much trouble on your part." Sesshomaru shook his silver head, signaling that it was not. "Thank you very much for your kindness. Which direction are your comrades?" He pointed in the correct direction. Sesshomaru's mind was in a jumble. Kind? He was nothing of the sort. To think that this woman had the nerve to say that… but perhaps she was just being polite. Her clothes would suggest that was to be expected of her. Sesshomaru shook his head. His thoughts always got ahead of him. He started walking and stalked ahead of Utsukushii. Slowing his pace incredibly in comparison to when he came here so the woman could keep up, they reached his camp in about ten minutes. She looked around interested and then her eyes landed on Ah-Un. A soft gasp came out of her mouth as she walked up to the two-headed dragon.

"Oh! He's so beautiful!" She stroked Ah-Un's scaly skin and the dragon relaxed considerably. "You really know how to travel in style, I'll give you that much, but correct me if I'm wrong, but do I smell human?" Smell? Since when can humans smell the presence of other humans? No matter. If this woman was to be traveling in this Sesshomaru's pack she would have to meet Rin… and Jaken, but Jaken was at the palace at the moment.

"You are correct. There is a human child that is under my care. You will meet her soon," Sesshomaru said flatly.

"A child? You're hands-," she looked at his one arm, "hand, must be full then. What with running your own lands and taking care of a little girl, you must have no time to yourself." She was right on the bulls-eye. It was true, Sesshomaru did not have any time for himself, but that was how he liked it, and that was the way it was going to stay. Suddenly a loud voice penetrated his thoughts.

"Sesshomaru-sama! You're back," shouted the little girl that had somehow wormed her way into his cold heart as she ran to him and wrapped her small arms around his leg. Rin looked at the woman standing next to Ah-Un. "Who's that?"

"Rin, this is Utsukushii; Utsukushii this is Rin," Sesshomaru introduced. Internally he scoffed. He had been lowered to introducing people; what had the world come to? Utsukushii looked at him giving him a look that clearly said: 'I could have introduced myself.' Oh well.

Utsukushii walked slowly up to the girl. She was so cute; she could feel her maternal instincts kicking in; this child had no mother-like figure in her life as far as she could see; she was traveling with men. She bent down to the child's level and smiled warmly at her, the smile light up her normally emotionless eyes. "It's nice to meet you Rin. As your Sesshomaru-sama said, I am Utsukushii and I will be traveling with you for a while. I hope you and I can become good friends."

Rin smiled bright and gave her a big hug. At first Utsukushii was startled but then she returned the hug. The girl's openness was infectious. Rin pulled away and looked at her. "Can I call you Utsu-neesan for short?"

A light tint of pink graced Utsukushii's face Sesshomaru observed from the sidelines. A person she just met has probably never asked her something like that. "Of course, Rin." She smiled and hugged the child again.

'There goes another person that Rin has managed to worm her way into,' thought Sesshomaru to himself. He looked to the sky and noted that it was growing dark and knowing humans they needed their sleep. "Rin, it is time you got ready for bed," said Sesshomaru, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen upon the area. Rin nodded her head and ran to the nearby creek to wash up.

"Has she always traveled with you?" Asked Utsukushii, after Rin left the clearing.

"No," said Sesshomaru shortly. "I saved her from a band of wolves and ever since then the human has not left me alone, and so she travels with me."

"So she lost her parents?"

Sesshomaru noted that this woman was truly a perceptive human, not many were. "Yes."

"That's horrible," she whispered. "To lose one's parent's at such a young age is a terrible thing to happen. But she has you now. I can see it in her eyes; she sees you as a father figure. She absolutely adores you. You're pretty lucky, not many people are fortunate enough to receive that kind of attention. I think I will follow Rin's lead and wash up. Please pardon me for my pointless blathering, I'm sure I must have bored you to death." Utsukushii followed the same path Rin did and washed her face.

Back at the camp, Sesshomaru's mind was reeling. One minute the woman seemed cold, the next she was absolutely brimming with emotion. She was something else. He sighed. Two woman to protect; what had he gotten himself into? He sniffed the air to see if there were any threats nearby; there were none. He decided he would sleep tonight. He walked to a tree near where Rin usually slept, sat down, and leaned against it making himself comfortable. The two females returned. One looked sleepy, the other looked wide-awake. Rin took three blankets and handed one to Utsukushii. Together they laid them out and lied down. Rin quickly snuggled up to Utsukushii and soon enough fell fast asleep. Utsukushii stayed up however, running her fingers through the young girl's hair. Eventually she decided to get some rest and laid her head down to fall into a light sleep.

A/N: I apologize profusely for making this chapter mostly fluff. I will make up for it in the fifth chapter. Prepare for the entrance of Naraku! C'yas!


	5. Chapter 5

The shone bright and early, waking Utsukushii and Sesshomaru effectively. Sesshomaru started gathering the scattered supplies every now and then looking to see if Rin was up yet. Utsukushii was once again propped on her elbow and running her slender fingers through Rin's hair. She was whispering softly for Rin to wake up and surprisingly enough- it was surprising to Sesshomaru at least- it worked. Rin sat up, stretched, and yawned, wiping traces of sleep from her eyes. Utsukushii gazed at her fondly and smiled when Rin looked her way.

"Good morning, Rin," she said softly. "Did you sleep well?"

"Oh yes! Very much! You were so warm and I felt really safe next to you!" Utsukushii smiled again.

"What about you, Sesshomaru-sama? Did you sleep well last night?"

Sesshomaru stared at her for a moment. No one had ever asked about his welfare. It was a strange feeling. "I slept as well as one can when he still needs to protect his pack."

"So you slept, but you were constantly aware of what was going on around you?" Again, there was that amazing perception she seemed to exude. He nodded. Utsukushii looked at Rin. "Well, little Rin, what do you say to you and I rolling up these blankets and helping Sesshomaru get out of here?"

"Let's do it!" Rin said eagerly. With all three of them working they had all their supplies gathered in no time and then they were off, Rin and Utsukushii riding Ah-Un while Sesshomaru walked.

VvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVv

Inu Yasha's group entered the forest where they had first found Utsukushii. They were following Akari's scent, but Inu Yasha hadn't picked it up until they had passed the entrance to the forest a long time ago, try the day before. They were taking the long way to where ever it was Akari went. It would be a while before any of them would find an actual trace of her. Halfway through the day Sango heard something that led her to believe that someone was following them. She ran ahead quite a ways to check it out. When she reached a certain point in the woods she let out a terrified scream. The group rushed after her. She hadn't found whatever it was that made the sound, but she had found Akari. In most cases, finding someone is usually a joyous occasion; this was far from it. The site that lay before them was quite gruesome. Akari was sliced in half, no blood on the ground, petrified eyes staring blankly. She was dead. The group could not spare any time, however, but allowed a small moment of silence. They moved on, but were still unnerved by the horrible scene that was behind them.

The majority of the day passed uneventfully for Sesshomaru's pack. It wasn't until around mid-day that something actually happened. They were trudging through the woods when Sesshomaru caught a scent that caused a low growl to emit from deep within his chest. He ran off quick as a flash, leaving the two females behind.

"Does he do that often?" Utsukushii asked curiously, but deep down she was worried. She had noticed the unfamiliar scent too and there was something nearby by that was prickling her senses.

"Sesshomaru does that a lot when he feels as if there's something close that could cause harm to his pack. He either kills whatever it is that he's found or lets them go if they're not a threat." Utsukushii nodded in understanding. Whatever was nearby had not left and now was even closer.

"Would Ah-Un follow my orders if I told him to do something?"

"I would think so. He's a pretty obedient dragon."

"Ok. Ah-Un, I needed you to watch over Rin, I need to investigate something." The dragon snorted in compliance. "Thank you, Ah-Un." Utsukushii quickly patted the dragon and then jumped off. She drew her sword when she landed. She headed in the direction of the other presence. A flash of yellow caught her eye and immediately she knew what it was. Saimyoushu. Swiftly, she cut down the annoying pest and ran in the direction Sesshomaru had gone in. She reached a clearing to find that Sesshomaru was out cold and a man in a blue baboon pelt was standing over him. Utsukushii snarled. Sesshomaru had been nothing but kind- well, maybe not kind exactly- to her and she was not about to let him die.

"You touch him and I will kill you!" She said harshly. The man laughed.

"It is not Sesshomaru I am after," he said.

"Then you're after me?" The baboon-pelt man laughed again.

"Catch on quickly, do you? Yes, I am after you. Or rather what you possess," he said vaguely.

"I have no idea what you're talking about unless you want my sword, but I can tell you now it won't do you any good. There's nothing special about it." Something about this man was making her extremely nervous. Judging by his scent, he was a hanyou, and yet he seemed to exude much more power then your typical pureblood demon.

"No, I am not after your sword. I am after the Shikon shard that is embedded in your chest." Utsukushii stared at him. Shard? When had she come in possession of a Shikon shard? What would she need it for? She was powerful enough without it, but now that she thought about it she did notice the presence of two shards that had managed their way underneath her flesh. One was in her chest the other was in her shoulder. Well, she wasn't about to start giving in that easily. She stepped forward, every intention of cutting down the bothersome hanyou down. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. There's poison in his blood, I wouldn't want to have to kill him because of a careless mistake you made. Hand the shard over."

"What makes you think that I'm just going to hand it over like that?" Utsukushii could not have the death of the lord of the western lands on her hands, but if her instincts were right and they usually were, then she could not let this buffoon have the shard either. An arrangement must be made somehow. Utsukushii inhaled deeply in thought. When she did so she noticed Inu Yasha's scent on the air. She had a feeling that his group was after the shards too. One of them would probably notice the presence of the shard. Quickly she formulated a plan in her head, it was risky, but she had to take a chance. "How about we make a deal? You remove the poison from his bloodstream and I shall hand over the shard, no strings attached."

The hanyou considered it for a moment. "All right, you have yourself a deal." Utsukushii internally sighed in relief.

"You carry out your end first or there's no deal," said Utsukushii, trying to stall him in anyway possible. She noticed that Inu Yasha's scent was traveling this way fast. She almost laughed at the strange half-demon. He didn't even realize he was about to be duped. She took out a small knife to show that she still intended to cut out the shard. When the hanyou was finished withdrawing the poison from the taiyoukai's veins, Utsukushii took the knife and cut her chest, leaving a pretty deep wound. Nimbly she took her fingers and gently pulled out the shard; it hurt like hell, but she knew the pain would pass. Her vision started to get a little hazy; she was losing quite a bit of blood, but she was not worried at all. She examined the shard for a moment, but what she was really doing was procrastinating. Then, she noticed that Inu Yasha was in the vicinity and started to hand over the shard to the baboon-pelt man. True to his style Inu Yasha rushed in between the two of them and snatched the jewel shard from Utsukushii's fingers. She smiled at the half-demon she would later come to know as Naraku. "I would never hand over something as valuable as that over to a half-demon who hurts a comrade of mine. Remember that next time you try a stunt like this again." Baboon man howled in rage and quickly left the clearing before Inu Yasha could draw Tetsuaiga. Utsukushii's vision was steadily getting worse and before she knew it she passed out, blood staining the ground beneath her.

A/N: Yes! I know! I left you at a cliffie! If you want the next chapter than I need at least 5 reviews from 5 different people. I really hope you enjoyed the story, cuz I enjoy writing them and I don't want to stop!


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